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Daybreak: Homs Prepares for Deadly Crackdown

Plus Iranian nukes and Bibi’s (cautious?) response, and more in the news

by
Marc Tracy
November 08, 2011
A protester outside Homs last Friday.(Reuters/NYT)
A protester outside Homs last Friday.(Reuters/NYT)

• With as many as 3500 civilians having already been killed over the past several months of unrest, Syria launched a sure-to-be-bloody campaign to retake the city of Homs, Syria’s third-largest. [NYT]

• The International Atomic Energy Agency report finds that Iran has the bomb-making know-how and could enrich enough uranium for one in six months; it did not find “smoking gun” evidence that this is Iran’s intent. [LAT]

• Prime Minister Netanyahu plans to raze unauthorized settlement-outposts in the West Bank; though it sounds minor, and though the extensive network of official settlements would be maintained, it could entail the largest evacuation of Israelis from the Palestinian territories since the Gaza withdrawal. [WSJ]

• Compared to past Israeli leaders, is Bibi actually acting relatively cautiously vis-à-vis Iran? And has the “Begin Doctrine” gone out the window? [Reuters]

• Bret Stephens says the West now must take a stand against Iran, and among the things it ought to actively push for is regime change in Tehran. [WSJ]

• Roger Cohen on the importance of remembering the past—and then leaving it behind in the name of compromise. [NYT]

Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.